GEORGIADEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION APPLICATION

2007 EXEMPLARY LIBRARY MEDIA PROGRAM

System Name: ClarkeCountySchool District

School Name: DavidC.BarrowElementary School

School Grade Levels: PreK – 5th Grade

Administrator: Tad MacMillan

Library Media Specialist: Marsha L. West

System Media Contact Person (Library Media Coordinator): Steve Piazza

Contact Person for possible telephone interview and GaDOE observation visit about this application: Marsha L. West

Contact Phone: 706-543-2676 ex. 38280

Contact Fax: 706-357-5279

Contact Email Address:

Our school’s spring break dates: March 12 - 16

Our school’s testing dates: CRCT – April 10 – 16; make-ups on April 16 – 17

MAP – April 30 - May 11

GeorgiaDepartment of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools September 14, 2006

Respond by printing “YES” on 1-7 below indicating that any necessary school or system level approvals have been met/requested:

1. YES Our school library media program is at the “Proficient” level on ALL 19 of the target indicators in the “Library Media Program Self Evaluation Rubric”.

2. YES There are at least 14 target indicators for which we can show evidence at the “Exemplary” level.

3. YES Our library media specialist can arrange to be available for a possible GaDOE telephone interview.

4. YES Our school and library media center can be open for a probable GaDOE observation visit.

5. YES Our school is willing to plan and host one Library Media Program Open House event between September 2007-May 2008 for visitors from other schools and school systems.

6. YES Our library media specialist will be able to attend and present at the GaETC/TLC Conference in 2007.

7. YES The school administrator has written one page narrative nominating the library media program for this honor. This document should be attached to the narrative and is not considered as part of the six page requirement.

1

To Members of the Exemplary Media Program Evaluation Committee:

On behalf of the learning community at Barrow Elementary, I nominate Marsha West and our media program for this prestigious recognition. Our media program is at the center of our success as a school, and Mrs. West is the heart and soul of the hard work and dedication that is required to create this magical, critically important space in our school. Mrs. West’s support of our literacy goals for all of our students is just the beginning. In addition to creating a program that celebrates and fosters the love of reading in children, Mrs. West has become fully involved in supporting instructional improvement throughout our school.

Mrs. West’s support of some dramatic instructional changes has made this year much easier for our teachers. She frequently attends teacher team meetings, searching for ways to support and collaborate. Thanks to her time and effort in this area, our teachers are using a wider array of resources to differentiate instruction in new and exciting ways. Once she learns of a need for some support material, Mrs. West dedicates her effort to finding it and putting it in the teacher’s hands.

Thanks to her work with our technology whole faculty study group, we have made progress in developing the technological skills of our teachers and our students. Now, more than ever before, technology is integrated into our classroom instruction in ways that are powerful in their support of student learning. Due to the support of Mrs. West and the technology WFSG, our teachers have fully developed their abilities to use different software and other technology. Due to her systematic, unfaltering support of our teachers and their technological needs, Mrs. West has helped our teachers and our students grow as users of technology.

Mrs. West’s support is also evident in the tremendous variety of programs that she organizes or helps to organize. She directs our guest readers’ day, bringing in over 50 community readers to celebrate reading. She organizes our storybook parade, a fun-filled Friday when the whole school dresses up as their favorite character. She helps to transform our media center into a train for Polar Express Day. She organizes our daily student-run news program, BTV. This program kicks off our morning each and every day. And so much more…

Last year, when I nominated Mrs. West, she managed and oversaw a great program. In the past year, she has sought to make it even better, developing her reflective practice and surveying “her customers” to ensure that the media program meets the needs of all patrons. Never one to rest on her laurels, Mrs. West has worked to make the media center and program even more vibrant, even more supportive of our school.

Our media center is the busiest room in our school. In one day, our media center will host a parent coffee hour, many classes, a steady stream of information seekers, and a flock of pleasure readers. After school, the pace continues with after school use by students, teacher committee meetings, and PTA committee meetings. Both children and adults are drawn to the vibrancy of our media center. Mrs. West deserves the credit for creating this wonderfully effective, exemplary space.

For these reasons and so many others, I enthusiastically recommend Mrs. West for the exemplary library media program recognition.

Sincerely,

Tad MacMillan

Principal

1

DavidC.BarrowElementary School Media Center and Program

At DavidC.BarrowElementary School, our library media center and program are the heart and the backbone of instruction. Our learning community, which includes administrators, teachers, parents, students, mentors, partners in education, and volunteers, utilize the library media center for a variety of purposes; however, instructional needs are paramount. Our school enjoys a large media center with ample space for an extensive collection of books, a broadcast studio, equipment storage, audio-visual stacks, 15 online computers, office space, and a design that provides for simultaneous large and small group activities. During the school day, our library media center is always open with personnel available to assist students and teachers with locating information, solving technical problems, or making book selections. Our students are provided instruction on accessing informational resources and encouraged to ask questions about resources and how best to use them. No question is too minor if it impedes the student’s quest for knowledge. The open-door operation and flexible schedule are designed to encourage use of our library media center at any time. Success of all students is our number one priority.

Student Achievement and Instruction. The foundation for developing independent users of information begins the first month of school with orientation to the library media center resources and personnel. Our teachers and media specialist allot the time needed for students to explore every facet of the media center including online resources. Our media specialist knows that students who are comfortable in the library media center, who have met the personnel, and who know how to ask for help will be more secure in using the resources. During orientation, our media specialist ensures that students know the arrangement of books and resources, how to successfully use the Online Public Access Catalog, how to access online resources such as GALILEO, and how to use computer programs from our local area network. Spending extra time early in the school year helps students develop fundamental knowledge of the library media center. This know-how is critical as students become more discerning in their use of print, non-print, and online resources.

At DavidC.BarrowElementary School, all students are expected to become successful users of information as detailed in Information Power; Building Partnerships for Learning and will successfully master Georgia Performance Standards. Our media specialist and teachers evaluate assessment data from standardized testing to determine student needs for instruction and then collaborate to ensure that appropriate instruction is provided for our regular students as well as special education, gifted, ESOL, and EIP students. Through formal or informal meetings, our media specialist and teachers develop instructional activities and units of study to meet the needs of our students and schedule time necessary for development of information literacy skills. If small groups or individuals need additional time or have a different need, they may visit the media center at any time and are assisted by the media specialist. Our media specialist believes that the most essential component of our library media program is working with students as they develop information literacy skills, learn to work with technology effectively, and select books to reflect a new reading interest or genre. This attention is fundamental to our priority of high student achievement.

Every teacher at our school collaborates with the media specialist and knows that the media center resources are always available. As teachers collaborate with our media specialist to plan the best instructional activities, it becomes evident that differentiation of instruction is essential. Special education and EIP students may require more instruction and practice before using information literacy skills. As we assess the student’s work and find the student needing additional help, the media specialist will provide individual instruction. Conversely, students in our gifted program will have more independent assignments which require critical thinking skills as they develop information literacy skills. Our media specialist and their teachers collaborate to ensure that our gifted students surpass the Georgia Performance Standards, become discerning users of information, and advanced users of technology. From PreK to fifth grade, achievement of information literacy skills is imperative.

Classroom teachers at DavidC.BarrowElementary School meet weekly to discuss grade level issues and curricula. Our media specialist joins these meetings as often as possible to assist with integrating technology and media resources into the curriculum, to help locate necessary resources, and to gain insight into needs for new resources in the media center. Although these scheduled meetings are very valuable, planning opportunities may arise over lunch, before and after school, through email, or when a teacher drops by the library media center. These meetings are equally valuable and frequently contribute creatively to curriculum planning. Each teacher’s time is valuable, and our media specialist strives to use every means of communication available to meet their needs. These planning sessions may initiate direct instruction to a group of students in the media center, a mini lesson to review and enhance information access skills for a major research project, or a story time to support study of an author or to introduce a literature genre. Our media specialist makes note of all needs and completes any required plans for instructional activities and locates any requested resources. Teacher and media specialist interaction enhances active use of resources from the library media center and/or online.

With our priority of enhancing student learning and retrieval of resources, a primary goal in our School Improvement Plan is an increase in reading ability for every student. Each student is required to read daily for a specified time as part of his/her homework. Parents are asked to verify the student’s reading log. Teachers may assign books, students may read a book from our library media center, or the parent may read aloud to the student. To support this initiative and to encourage students to read independently, a reading incentive award was developed by our media specialist in collaboration with the media committee. Each student who has met the daily reading goal has the privilege of selecting a free paperback book. The free books are awarded in December and May, and the students are recognized at our school wide honor and awards assembly. Last December, we gave away more than 200 books. To support reading and to encourage circulation, our media specialist developed the Library Star Award. This certificate is presented to the student in each classroom who has checked out the most books during the preceding month. With these two awards, our media specialist joins teachers in helping our school meet our reading goals.

The ClarkeCountySchool District media specialists work with all fifth grade students in the Battle of the Books program. This reading incentive activity is voluntary; however, many students at David C. Barrow Elementary participate. Our media specialist, assistant principal, and a teacher work with all the participating students to select books, understand details from the story, and memorize titles and authors. Each student on a team becomes an expert on two of the books as they prepare for the school level competition. The school winner advances to compete against other schools in the District. This competitive activity has become popular with our students and enhances their reading skills and our work in the School Improvement Plan. The media program is a primary agent in accomplishing goals from this plan.

Staffing. Our library media center is staffed with a full-time library media specialist and a half-time media paraprofessional. Additional support is provided by parent and grandparent volunteers. One volunteer is a former media specialist, who is also the grandmother of two students. She loves to read in her grandchildren’s classrooms, and will stop by the media center to offer help. Another volunteer is a retired teacher who donates time each week to attach barcodes, shelve books, cut letters for a bulletin board, or assist children with circulation. A great atmosphere of collegiality exists in our school and extends to our media program as all teachers, teaching assistants, and administrators assist with circulation and helping students locate information if the media specialist is busy with other students. Our entire school works together effectively to ensure that students are successful in using media center resources. This effort is supported with a flexibly scheduled, open access library media center. Students may use our facility during the after school program with an after school teacher or may come in before school, since our media specialist arrives early.

Even the students are involved in running a facet of our media program. The media center has space for a broadcast studio, so each school day begins with the Barrow television (BTV) crew, a group of fifth grade students, producing and presenting a live broadcast with our principal. The BTV crew, with assistance from our media specialist and two teachers, is responsible for running the equipment and working together to produce a quality news show each day, which is carried to all classrooms via our central electronic distribution system. Each spring, a new crew is selected from 4th grade. Our media specialist and the outgoing crew provide instruction to the new crew so they will be ready to go on the air when school starts in August. This transition continues our tradition of excellence in broadcasting from our studio and the media center.

Facilities, Access, and Resources. Our library media center is available to anyone when the space and/or resources are needed and a flexibly scheduled program is administered. Our teachers are scheduled a common planning time during which they may visit the media center for planning sessions with the media specialist, or these sessions may occur in one of the classrooms. Our media specialist is currently working on plans to create a forum for electronic collaboration through email and the Outlook calendar. The media committee wants to pilot this plan as quickly as possible. One goal is to increase collaboration between our media specialist and teachers while having fewer meetings. The other goal is an increase in the integration of technology and media resources with the curriculum.

Our library media center has adequate storage space and wiring to meet our technology needs and adequate shelving for our excellent collection of books and materials. Shelving is arranged so all sections in the media center are visible from the circulation desk. The design allows students to work quietly in one area, while a more active group is in another. Younger students often visit the media center to read or look for a book with a partner and will be noisier than an older student working on a research project. The spacing design also provides for adult meetings while students are listening to a story or working on a computer. Space is available for lunch with a mentor, quiet leisure reading, practicing Type to Learn or using another computer program, or using the reference area. Instruction, support, and access are themes evident in all facets of our library media space and program.